Environmental Impact Statement on Transportation Improvements in the Primary Transportation Corridor of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Transit Administration

Environmental Impact Statement on Transportation Improvements in

the Primary Transportation Corridor of the City and County of Honolulu,

Hawaii

AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), in cooperation with

the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services

(DTS), intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) in

accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for

proposed transportation improvements in the Primary Transportation

Corridor of the City and County of Honolulu. The transportation

improvements are being defined in conjunction with a Major Investment

Study (MIS), which will include the NEPA scoping process and the

selection of alternatives to be addressed in the EIS. The EIS will

evaluate a no-build condition, transportation system management, and

bus rapid transit and light rail transit options, plus any additional

alternatives that emerge from the scoping process. Scoping will be

accomplished through correspondence and discussions with interested

persons, organizations, and federal, State and local agencies, and

through a public meeting.

DATES: Comments Due Date: Written comments on the scope of alternatives

and impacts to be considered should be sent to Ms. Cheryl D. Soon at

the address in the ADDRESSE section by May 24, 1999.

Scoping Meeting: DTS will conduct a public scoping meeting on

Tuesday, May 11, 1999 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Washington

Middle School Cafeteria, 1633 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the project scope should be sent to Ms.

Cheryl D. Soon, Director, Department of Transportation Services, City

and County of Honolulu, 711 Kapiotani Boulevard, Suite 1200, Honolulu,

Hawaii 96813. The scoping meeting will be at the location stated above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CO0NTACT: Mr. Robert E. Horn, Director, Office

of Planning and Program Development, Federal Transit Administration,

Region IX, (415) 744-3133.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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I. Scoping

The FTA and DTS invite written comments on the scope of the study

until May 24, 1999.

During scoping, comments should focus on identifying specific

social, economic, or environmental impacts to be evaluated and

suggesting alternatives that are less costly or less environmentally

damaging, which achieve similar objectives. Comments should focus on

the issues and alternatives for analysis, and not on a preference for a

particular alternative individual preference for a particular

alternative should be communicated during the comment period for the

Draft EIS. If you wish to be placed on the mailing list to receive

further information as the project continues, contact Ms. Cheryl D.

Soon (see ADDRESSES above). A scoping packet describing the

alternatives proposed is available from Mr. Kenneth Hamayasu at (808)

527-6978. This packet will also be sent to federal, state, and local

agencies that may have an interest in the scope of the study.

DTS will invite federal, State, and local agencies and the public

to attend the scoping meeting described previously (see DATES above).

The roles of the Federal Highway Administration and other agencies will

be decided during scoping. The meeting will be advertised in MidWeek.

Comnments will be invited on the alternatives to be addressed and the

environmental, social, and economic impacts to be analyzed. People with

special needs should call Ms. Jovie Yoshioka at 808-531-7094. The

building used for the scoping meeting is accessible to persons with

disabilities.

II. Description of Study Area and its Transportation Needs

The Primary Transportation Corridor is located in the City and

County of Honolulu along the southern coast of the island of Oahu. It

extends from Kapolei on the west end of the island, past Pearl Harbor,

Honolulu International Airport, and downtown Honolulu to the University

of Hawaii at Manoa (UH). The east-west length of the Corridor is

approximately 23 miles. The north-south width is no more than four

miles because the Koolau Mountain Range bounds much of the Corridor to

the north and the coastline bounds the Corridor to the south. The

Corridor includes the highest density and largest employment areas on

the island and in the State. The western portion of the Corridor is

less dense, but is designated as the ``Secondary Urban Center'' by the

State and City and County to encourage well planned residential and

employment growth at a single location outside the Primary Urban

Center.

Freeways, highways, streets and a 525-vehicle bus system are

currently the basic transportation components responsible for the

movement of people and goods on Oahu. All types of vehicles, such as

public and private transit services, bicycles and pedestrians, utilize

the existing roadway network. The bus system, called TheBus, provides

islandwide coverage on 80 routes, and carries approximately 80 million

passengers annually.

III. Alternatives

The alternatives under consideration include a No-Build

Alternative, an Enhanced Bus/Transportation System Management (TSM)

Alternative, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Alternative, and a Light Rail

Transit (LRT) Alternative with several alignment options. These

alternatives will be developed further during the preparation of the

Draft EIS.

No-Build Alternative

The No-Build Alternative will include existing transit and highway

facilities and committed transportation projects to the year 2020.

Committed projects are those programmed in the Oahu Regional

Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) Amendment No. 3, FY 1998-FY 2000.

Highway components in the No-Build Alternative will also be included in

the build alternative. The No-Build Alternative's transit components

will include a bus transit system structured generally the same as the

current system, but with an increase in fleet size to accommodate

growth so that service frequencies would be the same as today.

Enhanced Bus/Transportation System Management (TSM) Alternative

The Enhanced Bus/TSM Alternative would provide a restructured bus

system based on a hub-and-spoke route network, and low-cost capital

improvements on existing roadway facilities, such as bus prioritization

at signalized intersections, bus bypass lanes at spot locations, and

semi-exclusive bus lanes on certain arterial street segments.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Alternative

The BRT Alternative would consist of a hub-and-spoke transit system

modified to focus service on additional transit facilities that provide

priority treatments for transit. The transit facilities include

expansion of the existing zipper lane on the H-1 Freeway that would

include PM contraflow operations; semi-exclusive bus lanes on major

arterial roadways; redesigned ramps; transit centers at strategic

locations; and an LRT or electrically-powered bus line from Downtown

Honolulu to Waikiki.

Light Rail Transit (LRT) Alternative

An LRT alternative being considered would include an LRT line from

Pearl City to the UH via Kamehameha Highway, Middle Street, King

Street, Kapiolani Boulevard, and University Avenue. An alternative to

this line would use Salt Lake Boulevard, Puuloa Road, Kamehameha

Highway, Dillingham Boulevard and King Street. A possible third LRT

alternative would utilize the same alignment as the first LRT option,

except the limits would be from Middle Street to UH. In addition, all

the LRT alternatives would include many of the transit priority

treatments of the BRT alternative, such as the expansion of the H-1

zipper lane.

Highway Elements

Some of the build alternatives could include a Sand Island Bypass

and a Nimitz Parkway, projects intended to connect Honolulu with the

ocean. The relationship of these projects with the transit project will

be explored during scoping, in cooperation with FHWA and the State of

Hawaii Department of Transportation.

IV. Probable Effects

Issues and impacts to be considered during the study include

potential changes to: the physical environment (air quality, noise,

water quality, aesthetics, etc.); the social environment (land use,

development, neighborhoods, etc.); parklands and historic resources;

transportation system performance; capital, and operating and

maintenance costs; and financial resources available and financial

impact on the City and County. Portions of the Corridor are listed on

the National Register of Historic Places, so potential impacts on

standing structures and historic districts (i.e., noise, vibration,

aesthetics, etc.) will be important. Vehicular/pedestrian circulation,

parking and in-street operation of buses and streetcars are key

considerations.

Evaluation criteria will include consideration of the local goals

and objectives established for the study, measures of effectiveness

identified during scoping, and criteria established by FTA for ``New

Start'' transit projects.

V. FTA Procedures

The Draft EIS for the Primary Corridor Transportation Project will

be prepared simultaneously with conceptual engineering for the

alternatives. The Draft EIS/conceptual engineering

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process will assess the social, economic, and environmental impacts of

the proposed alternatives while refining their design to minimize and

mitigate any adverse impacts. After its publication, the Draft EIS will

be available for public and agency review and comment, and a public

hearing will be held. Based on the Draft EIS and comments received, the

City will select a preferred alternative to be further detailed in the

Final EIS. The Final EIS will be based on information resulting from

preliminary engineering.

Issued on: April 21, 1999.

Leslie T. Rogers,

Regional Administrator.

[FR Doc. 99-10554 Filed 4-26-99; 8:45 am]

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